


an unplanned meeting

by WattStalf



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Extended Scene, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-20 05:04:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20222278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: Byleth dances with nearly all of her students, except for the one she'd like to dance with most. When she steps away from the ball, she finds him.So? Were you expecting to make some sort of vow with me up here, during our unplanned meeting?





	an unplanned meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I love Hubert so much and also every other student. I wanted to extend his goddess tower scene and I wanted to write about Byleth dancing with the other students, since Sothis implies it, so I combined them into this.

It’s all Claude’s fault that this starts at all. If it weren’t for him, none of the other students would have been able to get up the courage to go for it, and Byleth could have stood off on her own, watching the festivities and losing herself in thought, dwelling far too much on the rumor she heard earlier in the month, regarding this particular night and the Goddess Tower.

But Claude takes her by the hand with no hesitation and no mind for how it might look, and once he’s danced with her, the other students begin clamoring for their turn. Ferdinand is intent on showing her up close how skilled of a dancer he is, which means that Lorenz is not far behind him, not wanting to be shown up by Ferdinand _ or _ Claude.

Dorothea grabs her next, and barely has a turn before Caspar is there, demanding her attention, before Sylvain cuts in, stealing Byleth away for himself.

“We want turns too!” Annette insists, with Mercedes at her side. One by one, Byleth dances with them, and before she can get away, they’ve pressured Ingrid, who seems content to watch from the sidelines, to give Byleth a dance as well. Petra, finally getting into the swing of things, asks for a turn next, and Ashe bashfully approaches as soon as they’re done.

“I can dance in theory,” Linhardt reminds her, “so help me test that before I make a fool of myself with anyone else.” Of course, once they’re done he wonders aloud if he’s put forth enough effort and can sneak back to his room, but Byleth doesn’t have a chance to tell him no before Leonie has grabbed her by the hand, determined to make this into some sort of contest.

Dedue asks her to dance on Dimitri’s behalf, telling her that Dimitri regrets being too busy to dance with her himself. Scowling, Felix approaches her as she and Dedue separate, saying, “Well, if everyone else is going to _ make _ me do this…” She doesn’t mention that she hasn’t noticed anyone trying to make him do anything.

She gets a moment to herself to breathe before Raphael shoves Ignatz towards her, saying, “Go on, just ask her!”

“I-I wasn’t really going to- !”

“Why not? You wanna dance with her, just go for it! But I want the next dance, it looks like fun!” he says.

Smiling, Byleth offers her hand to Ignatz, who goes red but accepts it. After him is Raphael, and then Hilda, and then finally, it seems like Byleth will get a chance to rest, when she feels someone tapping on her shoulder. Turning around, she sees Bernadetta cowering behind her.

“H-hey, um, so...everyone keeps saying it’ll look bad if I don’t dance with anyone! And I really don’t want to go out in the middle, but no one wants to dance with me off in the corner! So, um…” She looks up at Byleth, desperation clear in her eyes. “Will _ you _ please dance with me off in the corner? I could do it, if it’s you!”

At this point, it seems only right that Byleth dance with all of her students, now that the barriers have been broken down like this. She gives Bernadetta a dance that helps ease some of her nerves, and then searches for Lysithea. A few times, she’s noticed the younger girl shooting her glances, but she’s kept to herself most of the night.

“I’m not really interested in things like this,” she says, “but if you really want to dance with me that bad…”

As for Marianne, she is doing all she can to avoid catching any eyes, and Byleth makes light conversation with her, keeping her company since she isn’t interested in dancing. Edelgard will likely be kept busy for the entire night, and Dedue essentially said as much for Dimitri, so Byleth is content, having given everyone else a fair turn. Really, this is probably all for the best. Dancing with everyone else, and now occupying herself by talking with Marianne...all of this can help keep her mind off of what she definitely shouldn’t be thinking about to begin with.

“Do you mind if I cut in?” Dorothea asks, approaching her and snapping her out of her thoughts. “Caspar interrupted earlier, so I really didn’t get much of a turn.”

“Go on ahead,” Marianne says. “I’m fine over here.”

Byleth nods, and Dorothea offers a hand, pulling her back to the dance floor. “I wish Caspar hadn’t cut in like that,” she says. “It made everyone else want to, and I never got the chance to say what I wanted to say before.”

“You had something to tell me?”

“A bit of advice, actually,” she replies. “Maybe I only noticed because I’m so perceptive to these matters, but it seems really obvious to me that there’s someone you’d rather spend the evening with.”

“I don’t…”

“You don’t have to hide it from me, Professor,” Dorothea says with a grin. “Your eyes have been wandering all over the room ever since he left. No matter who you were dancing with, you were always looking for someone else.”

“I really have no idea what you mean,” she lies, surprised that she’s that obvious.

“I don’t know where he went, but you’ve definitely done your part tonight. No one would blame you for being tired, so, if I were you, I’d take this opportunity to make your excuses, slip out, and look for him!” she says in an encouraging tone, before wrinkling her nose. “But, if I were you, I’m not so sure that _ Hubert _ would be the one I’d want to spend tonight with.”

“I never said…!” Byleth blushes, with no way to hide from it now that Dorothea has said his name out loud. She’s really done her best to hide the crush she’s been harboring on her most intimidating student, so the fact that she’s been seen through so easily…

“I figured out one of your weak points, just like I said I would,” she teases. “So, what are you waiting for? Go look for him, the party will be just fine without you.”

“I’m only leaving because I’m tired,” Byleth says, knowing full well that Dorothea would never believe her at this point.

“Your secret’s safe with me, Professor.” With that, they end their dance, and, just as she’s been advised, Byleth slips out.

~X~

She doesn’t expect to find Hubert in the Goddess Tower; she doesn’t expect to find Hubert anywhere, and has no intention of actually looking for him. Whether she likes him or not, and regardless of what Dorothea thinks she should do, she can’t spend the night searching the monastery for him in the hopes of getting some alone time to...do what, exactly? Even if she were to find Hubert, what would she say to him? What would she honestly expect to happen?

So she plans to spend some time on her own, fantasizing about the vow she’s far too shy to ask him to make, and that she couldn’t even if she wanted to, because he still her student, young as she may be. She doesn’t plan on running into him _ here _ of all places, but there he is, partially obscured by shadow, looking lost in thought.

He snaps out of it as soon as she notices him, however. “Are you here for a tryst, Professor?” he asks, and before she can answer, continues. “I won’t interfere. I shall take my leave.”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing like that!” she says, hoping to stop him before he leaves, though she still has no idea what she could say to him. “I wasn’t…what do you mean by tryst?" She decides to play dumb.

"You've arranged to meet someone in the Goddess Tower, have you not?”

“That’s...not the case.”

“I see. Apologies for the misunderstanding,” he replies. “Does that mean you aren’t familiar with the rumors about this place?”

Of course she is. Even for someone as out of touch as she is, spending just the month before the ball in the monastery would have heard the rumors about the Goddess Tower. Still, she chooses to lie, shaking her head.

“There is an old legend that says promises made between lovers here are sure to be fulfilled,” he says. “If you believe in that sort of thing. I would have considered you to be familiar with the story already, considering how popular you are.” And to think, he doesn’t even know about her exhausting night of dancing! “I was certain someone had asked you here.”

“No, nobody asked me.”

“No need to sound so dejected.” Did she? She hadn’t meant to. Or maybe he’s just teasing her, which she wouldn’t put past him. “I suspect those who wished to ask were simply too daunted to try. But thanks to their cowardice, I am gifted with this opportunity to speak with you.”

Gifted? An opportunity? The way he says it makes it almost seem like he’s happy to spend time with her. “What do you mean?” she asks.

“It’s clear you have never felt at ease around me, as a result of how little trust there is between us,” he answers, but it doesn’t feel much like an answer to her. It also isn’t the reason she’s uneasy around him, but she isn’t going to correct him on that now. _ No, it isn’t about trust, I’m just very attracted to you _, doesn’t sound like a good response.

“I should get back to the ball, regardless. I imagine there would be quite a scene if you turned out to be lying.”

“You don’t trust me?” she asks.

“Trust is not in my nature.”

Even so, who, exactly would she have to meet up here? Maybe he doesn’t know about her interest in _ him _, but she doubts anyone would assume she had any interest in anyone else. But he’s using that as an excuse to take his leave, and she doesn’t want him to leave just yet. He seemed almost happy to have the chance to talk with her, didn’t he? Even though she knows better, she wants to see if that’s the case. She wants to see just how far she can take him, unsure of what’s giving her this strange new courage.

He’s already turned his back on her, and she calls after him, “Wait!”

“Hm?” Hubert turns back around. “Do you need something?”

“I wasn’t lying about not being asked up here,” she says. “But...I was planning on waiting for someone up here.”

“Oh?” He raises a brow. “And why, exactly, does that concern me?”

“Well…” She swallows. “What if I said I was coming up here to wait for you?”

“Without so much as an invitation? Honestly, Professor.” He shakes his head, chuckling. “How could you know I’d come? We only met up here by chance. I can assure you I came up here to get some quiet, possibly scare off some younger students, _ not _ to look for you.”

“Naturally,” she says, trying not to let it sting. As if she could have expected anything else from him.

“So? Were you expecting to make some sort of vow with me up here, during our unplanned meeting?”

“Maybe I was,” she says. “Maybe I did hear the rumors, and I thought of you immediately.”

Hubert is silent for a moment, unreadable, before he smirks, and then laughs. “Oh, Professor...you always look so serious, even when you’re telling a joke. If you’re not careful, some might take you seriously. I’d work on that, if I were you.”

Whether he really believes it’s a joke or not, he gives her an out. She needs to clear her head, before she says anything else she might regret. He may actually believe she’s joking, but he also might realize that she’s being honest, and allowing her a chance to not make too much of a fool of herself. She is still the teacher, and he is still the student. If she has any sort of chance with him, it’s something that she really should wait on.

“Nothing gets past you, Hubert. No, that isn’t actually what I came up here for, but I was looking for you.”

“And why’s that?” His smile, sinister as ever, still hasn’t left his face.

“You missed it, but Claude drug me out to the dance floor,” she says. “After that, I was practically mobbed by the other students, wanting a turn to dance with me. I didn’t want you to feel left out.”

“They all really..” Again, he shakes his head with a laugh. “Well, I appreciate the offer, but I’m not much of a dancer.”

“You expect me to believe that after those lessons I had to give you?” she teases. “And, if I recall correctly, you put the others in that contest to shame.”

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?” he asks, sighing. “Very well, if it will get you to leave me alone, I suppose I can join you for _ one _ dance. Though, if it’s alright with you, I’d prefer to do it here.”

Though they can’t hear the music from the party all the way up here, Byleth finds that she likes that idea quite a bit. If only because it means she won’t have to avoid Dorothea’s knowing looks, she doesn’t mind the idea of keeping this moment between the two of them.

And so, Hubert takes her hand, and takes her through the very steps she had to teach him so recently. It isn’t much, but it’s enough to make tonight one of the happiest she’s ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're interested in my writing updates, please follow my fanfiction twitter @WattStalf  
I'll follow back so long as you don't post anything hateful!  
I've also started a discord server for Edelgard x Byleth x Hubert x Ferdinand and any and all variations of the ship. You just have to ship one to join, so DM me on twitter to get a link to join! Must be 18+


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